The Letter
by skittles5
Summary: Wow... been a while since I was on here! This is another Sora and Mimi fic. It's been on the back burner for a while. I didn't want it to die... lol... I thought it had an okay start. I think I'll finally attempt to work on it again!
1. Her Escape

Like I said, this one's been "in the works" for a long time… basically I just couldn't think of how or where to go with it! But I'm gonna post it anyways. Hopefully that in itself will motivate me to try to keep… working… on it. LOL. Oh, I wanna say thanks to everybody that left kind words regarding "Overcoming All Boundaries." That was kind of a "drawing from personal feelings that I could never reveal" story, and the comments meant a lot! So thanks! Right… onto the story…  
  
Chapter One – "Her Escape" "They should make envelopes taste better," thought Sora as she sealed her letter and placed it, with shaking hand, on the bare bed in her old dormroom. She knew her roommate Mimi would be home in a matter of minutes, so she had to leave quickly, or not at all. Gazing back into the place she'd called home for so long, she picked up her remaining bags from the hallway floor, shut the door behind her, and walked rapidly outside to her 1990 Volkswagn Cabriolet. It was snowing, and she could see her breath as she crammed her last two duffels in the back amongst her other personal belongings. She'd left the car running, so the heat was a nice surprise when she finally slid into the driver's seat. Without looking behind her, she put the cabby in first gear and drove off campus. Only moments later, the whirling snow had covered the retreating tire tracks, leaving nothing but memories of her on the wind.  
  
When Mimi arrived home later that evening, and noticed that all of Sora's things were gone, her first response was to panic. She dialed Tai's extension number, but instead of reaching him, she heard the familiarly quirky answering machine message on the other end of the line: "Hey you've reached Tai and Matt… we may just be screening our calls so if you're by any chance a group of fine young ladies, don't bother to leave us a message, just come over! (muffled: YAMATO STAY AWAY FROM THOSE!) And if you're anyone else… sorry you couldn't reach us. Better luck next time." Mimi hung up the phone, and was taking a second glance around the room when she noticed the beige envelope lying where Sora's baby-blue quilt had once covered her bed. She sat down on the mattress, opened the letter, and began to read:  
  
Dearest Mimi,  
  
There is no easy way to start this letter… I am sure you are wondering of my whereabouts, and I will be completely honest with you. I'm transferring out. Don't for an instant think that I didn't adore your roommate and going to college here… it's much more complicated than that. I've been living a lie the past few years, and I'm tired. Too exhausted to continue… you've watched me date many boys on and off throughout our high school and college careers. I often wondered if you ever questioned the number of these so-called "men…" it's not because I'm flitty, or afraid of commitment… in all actuality these boys were simply a last ditch, desperate effort to change myself – to change something ABOUT myself I never should have tried to change. You could say I am bisexual… I like the physicality of being with a boy but there is one girl in my life who has always had my attention over any guy. She's grown up with me, cried with me, laughed with me, hugged me, scolded me, always kept me in line, and been the best friend (and roommate) I could ever hope to have… it's you, Mimi. Of course it's you. I think I'm in love with you but I'm terrified to find out… terrified of the implications. If this is who I am, then I accept that, and the consequences… but I can't stay around you any longer. I may slip up… hug you too long, stare at you in ways that I shouldn't, and then I would lose you forever. I guess I'm giving you up before you can give up on ME.  
  
I'm so scared of this… God knows I've tried to fight the feelings for so long. How can something I have no control over be wrong? And yet that's what I've always been taught… that these feelings are a sin, punishable by an eternity in hell. It doesn't help to know that if you ever come out to your family, they'll disown you without a second thought. Maybe I don't buy into the hype they've fed me… maybe I'd rather be who I truly am, and search for a God that loves me anyway, than to remain scared and lost, with an uncertain future. I guess, in a way, that's what I'm doing by leaving.  
  
Supposedly there are a lot of 'freaks' out at Wescott U, where I'm going. Maybe I can blend in, be less noticeable, finish college… figure out what I'm going to do with myself, and my life. I hope so.  
  
There's not much else I can say… you are truly a kind and wonderful person, Mimi, so please don't ever change. The thought of you and the way things used to be will keep me going in the coming years. I'm so sorry to drop this on you, and take the coward's way out. I'll always regret not having said this to your face, and yet, I think it's better like this, in the end. There's no room for tears. I will always remember you… I pray daily that you will accomplish everything you want to in your lifetime, and that when you get to heaven, you will put in a good word for me, because Lord knows, I may need it.  
  
Very Sincerely Yours,  
  
Sora Takenouchi  
  
The letter dropped to the floor as Mimi struggled to comprehend what she'd just read. Sora? In love with her? It surpassed anything she'd ever imagined of her best friend. As Sora herself had pointed out, she'd had quite a few boyfriends since they'd started college, but Mimi had always just assumed she was on a mad hunt for "Mr. Right." Now with so many new thoughts and questions running through her head, she felt overwhelmed and exhausted. Sleep, however, was out of the question. Taking charge, Mimi began packing up some bare essentials into a couple small bags. It would be pointless to set out for Wescott tonight, but in the morning she'd have a long journey ahead of her. 


	2. Night

Chapter Two - "Night"  
  
  
  
Sora spent the night at the first rundown motel she could find. It was only a matter of days after Christmas, so scattered, multi-colored bulbs still greeted her--the only warmth she could find in the dark winter's night. She was glad she'd pulled her car over when she had, for as she opened the door to go reserve a room, a gust of wind made her gasp audibly. The swirling flakes seemed to get worse with every passing moment. Teeth chattering, Sora stumbled through the blizzard and forced open the glass door under an orange neon sign that read "vac ncy." She wondered if they know a bulb had burnt out. The room she suddenly found herself standing in appeared empty… she and a small, wilting Christmas tree in the corner were the only signs of life. But, suddenly, through a cloud of cigarette smoke in the back room, a plump older woman appeared, smiling sympathetically at Sora's freezing figure.  
"Hi, hon. You need a room?"  
Sora smiled back. "Yes, please. Just for one night."  
As the woman shuffled through papers, her glasses slipping down the bridge of her nose, she glanced at Sora, "I don't mean to pry, sweetheart, but you seem awful young to be out here alone on a night like this. Is everything alright?"  
  
In her head, Sora considered this question silly. Of course everything was not alright. Nothing would ever be alright… out loud, however, she managed an offbeat laugh, "Oh, yes. I'm just switching schools… it was… well… kind of an urgent situation. I have to be out to Wescott by tomorrow afternoon."  
  
"Well… good luck. I hope this snow lets up, or you might be delaying your trip. Here's a key, you're in room 92. Go out, follow the drive around, and it'll be on your left back by the fence. Be careful."  
  
Sora said nothing but smiled in thanks. As she turned and the inky black night swallowed her swaying figure, the old woman shook her head. She said nothing, called nothing out to Sora in that moment, but she smiled, a slow, sensible smile and muttered to herself. "This could be interesting. This could be VERY interesting."  
  
Mimi had been attempting to sleep for the past hour, but the wind was just too fierce, and her mind was far too muddled to get any rest at all. She sat up, thinking angrily that she should be anywhere but here. Pulling her knees to her chest, she stopped fighting, and gave in to the thoughts that had been licking at her brain all night. "It wasn't so much the rejection…" Mimi muttered, "just… how it was handled, I guess…" She remembered all too well how one fateful summer had begun so long ago… how her life had come crashing around her just after school let out… until the Digital World turned her around, and helped her start again. It had been just another day in June, the day she confessed her feelings to Kara.   
  
The two girls had grown up together. They were constantly with one another, and their mothers laughed happily at their mirth, shaking their heads and thanking God that their little girls had discovered the bonds of true friendship so early. Mimi thought there was never another person she would ever want to be around for her entire life… so one day as the girls played hopscotch on the sidewalk outside Kara's building, she told her so.  
"But Mimi… what about when you get married? You'll spend all your time with your husband, silly! That's how things go."  
Mimi smiled. "Maybe I don't want a husband. All I want is you!" And, laughing, she had thrown her arms around the girls neck and kissed her… not a passionate kiss, for they were too young, just a happy 'look, I've discovered something wonderful' kiss. Kara's reaction, however, was not quite as joyful. She stiffened and backed away.  
Mimi frowned. "Kara? What's wrong? Did I upset you?"  
With narrow eyes, Kara sputtered, "My mom… she told me about people like you. What you just did was a sin, Mimi. I… I don't want to see you anymore. Ever again. Just… just stay away."  
  
Stay away… stay away… the words echoed in the now almost 19 year old Mimi's head as she envisioned that day over in her mind. She saw Kara's back as she ran down the blistering hot sidewalk, and she heard herself cry out, "Come back! I'm sorry!!!" After that day, she began to play the game like everyone else. She went into the Digital World a girl, and came out a young woman… a young woman who gained popularity in high school in America, and who, when Sora joined her in the U.S. for college, had vowed never again to fall in love… at least not with a girl.  
  
But THIS… this was all so sudden… so new. Mimi didn't trust it. She didn't know what to think. She wanted to leave, to find Sora now. It was irrational, it was rash… it was what her heart was telling her to do. Her alarm clock clicked over to read 12:00 a.m. and she glanced at it in a daze as outside she heard a church bell far away, ringing out 12 gongs into the blustery night. "I can't leave NOW." She reasoned with herself. "Unless the snow decided out of nowhere to just suddenly STOP…" her thoughts trailed off as she looked out the dorm room window into the courtyard below… and smiled at what she saw. 


	3. Morning

'nother disclaimer... remember how I don't own Digimon? I also don't own Amy Grant, or any of her lyrics that may have happened to find their way into this story... *whistles innocently*  
  
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Chapter Three - "Morning"  
  
Far away, Sora also glanced outside. "The snow's stopped." she noted absently, as she plopped her suitcase down on the floor beside her bed for the night. She didn't really want to reflect on her recent actions… in fact she really didn't want to think about ANYTHING, so she lay back, sighing, and turned the clock radio on. Since Christmas had barely been over three days, a few scattered stations were still playing Christmas carols. The first words she heard made her feel uncomfortable, ashamed…  
  
"Breath of heaven, hold me together. Be forever near me, breath of heaven."  
  
"I wish you were on my side." she thought miserably as a tear slipped down one cheek. She didn't want to believe that God had turned His back on her because she was gay… but it was hard not to, having been taught that her entire life. Turning her radio off, she curled up on her side, facing the wall away from the door, and dismally tried to sleep.  
  
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While Sora slumbered, Mimi was already well on her way to finding her. As soon as the snow had stopped, she had left the University without a note or goodbye to anyone. Now, driving through the deep snow drifts and ever present darkness of the winter night, that fact worried her. Suppose something happened? No one would know where she was.  
  
Suddenly, she hit a patch of ice, and though she was driving relatively slowly, her own nerves made her panic as soon as she felt her wheels slide. As her car spun out of control, she shut her eyes tightly, grasping the wheel as she did so, and tried to focus her whirlwind of thoughts. "Breath of Heaven, be forever near me." an inner voice whispered. Mimi had started praying without realizing it. "Where did that come from?" she wondered. In that moment, she seemed to forget the turmoil around her. She became the calm in the midst of the storm… the eye of the hurricane. Before she knew what was occurring, her car had stopped careening, and had come to rest by the side of the road. She didn't know if she'd be able to drive it anymore in her shaken condition, however, so she looked up to see if there was someplace she could walk for help or shelter. A glowing sign perched above a motel nearby read "vac ncy."  
  
"I wonder if they know a bulb is burnt out." she thought, relaxing now that her ordeal had ended.  
  
Mimi was hardly more than 30 feet from the door to the motel lobby, but with the fierce wind blowing great blasts of snow in her face, the trip on foot took her longer than she'd expected. When she finally stumbled into the tiny room, she found herself face to face with the same aging motel attendant Sora had encountered earlier.  
  
The woman simply smiled and laughed, as if she knew a secret no one else would ever understand. Then, leaning forward slightly in her chair, she gazed at Mimi. "I suppose you'd like a room?" Mimi was a bit taken aback by the woman's odd mannerisms, but , true to form, she smiled politely and nodded. "Well, I think I know the perfect one for you!" the woman quipped, "If I can just find this key… ahh. Here we go. It's room 92, sweetheart. Follow this drive around, and the room will be on your left back by the fence."  
  
In her relief to get out of the biting chill, Mimi didn't notice Sora's car, snow-covered and alone in the dark parking lot. She didn't notice that a light was already faintly glowing in room 92 as she turned her key in the lock. It was only once she'd gotten inside, shut the door behind her, and turned back around that she took in Sora's sleeping form, curled away from her. Against her own will, she let out an audible gasp.  
  
At this unexpected noise, Sora stirred from her slumber, stretched a little, and turned to take in Mimi's wind-blown body, standing suddenly unsure by the doorway. Neither girl spoke, at first, but after a few minutes that seemed more like hours, Mimi stepped forward and knelt by the bed. She began to speak softly.  
  
"I know this girl… she's been my best friend since I was 12 years old. She's stood by me through thick and thin. She's held me while I cried, and congratulated me on every conquest, no matter how small, that I undertook. And for some reason I'll never understand… she fell in love with me, and thought I would hate her for it."  
  
Sora, smiling through small tears, reached out and took Mimi's hand as she continued.  
  
"She thought I wouldn't want to be her friend anymore, or worse yet, I'd BE her friend, but only that, and I'd be a constant reminder to her of her feelings. But there was one option she didn't consider… and that one turned out to be the truth. See, even though she realized it before I did, this girl and I are meant to be together. And that's regardless of what society says… do you think I could make her understand that?"  
  
In response, Sora moved over on her rusty motel bed, and motioned for Mimi to join her. Safe from the winter's fury, they lay, staring into each other's eyes and taking in the wonder of true love they had discovered, until they both lost inward battles they were fighting, and fell asleep in each other's arms.  
  
And that is where this story ends… almost. The next morning was bright and crisp, with blue skies and an untouched expanse of clean, white snow. There would be no Wescott for Sora today, or any other day. Mimi helped her pack up her things to head back to the old University… where, she assured her, she belonged. But as they were getting ready to hit the road…  
  
"I almost forgot!" Sora cried, motioning towards the small lobby. "We have to pay her for the room." Mimi grinned. "You're RIGHT… do you think she's awake? Or even still HERE??" Sora shrugged. "Only one way to find out…" They crunched through the new fallen snow to the room, but as they neared the door, they realized all at once that there were a few things wrong.  
  
"This window wasn't broken last night." Mimi said, furrowing her brow. "And look… there's a padlock on the door. I wonder…" Sora whirled towards the back lot, searching for room 92. When it came into her vision, she got chills… "Mimi… there are planks nailed across our door. This place doesn't look like it's been open in years."  
  
Realizing the full importance of what they'd just seen, the two wide-eyed girls eventually left the deteriorating motel… but what they took away from their eerie trip was a lesson about life. That the standards of others shouldn't stand in the way of good, pure love… and that sometimes, when Christmas still lingers in the air, and snow covers all… miracles can happen. 


End file.
